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Butch's Snow Rescue
Plot It was the night of the snowstorm that had hit Sodor. The wind blew outside the Tidmouth Bus Depot. Inside, Algy frowned. "I'm worried about this snow... Aren't you, Bertie?" Bertie grinned. "Nah, I like snow. It's fluffy, soft, and-" "In case you haven't noticed, Bertie, we're in the middle of a blizzard." Bulgy scowled. "So? I can deal with that," Bertie said confidently. His driver walked up to him. "Come on Bertie. We're due for a drive soon; some people need to get home." Bertie smiled. "Oh yes! But what about Algy and Bulgy?" "They're not needed," his driver replied as he started his engine. Bertie felt pleased. “Bertie, is it really that good of an idea to drive in the snow like this?” asked Bulgy grumpily, “You could get lost like you did in the fog.” “Who told you that?” snapped Bertie, “Besides, these people need to get home.” “I’m with Bulgy on this one,” agreed Algy, “I’m a risktaker, but even I wouldn’t go in that storm.” Berite snorted. “You two just don’t have the dedication that I do. Now if you excuse me, my passengers are waiting.” The door was opened and Bertie drove away to pick up the people. “Do you think he’ll be alright?” asked Algy. “Give it an hour,” replied Bulgy. Bertie drove into the station, looking over to find Pip and Emma with their last run to Barrow. "Hello Bertie," said Emma grumpily. Bertie chuckled as some passengers climbed into him. "What's the matter? Are you cold?" "We don't have fireboxes like the steam engines do," shivered Pip, "We Diesels get cold easier." "Oh, that's bad," Bertie said, smiling, "We buses have heaters so our passengers are comfortable." Pip and Emma looked at each other with envy; they'd like to have heaters too. "Well, be careful tonight, Bertie," Pip said, changing the subject, "This snowstorm could be the worst the island's ever seen." "Snow's simply icy water," laughed Bertie, "I'll be fine. Trust me." "It's hard to do that after the fog incident..." Emma muttered. "Okay, how does everyone know about that?!" Pip and Emma giggled as their guard blew the whistle. Pip honked her horn as the high-speed train raced out of the station. Bertie just scowled as he drove off to Knapford Station. "Pfft, nobody thinks I can handle snow. I can too! I will, just they wait and see!" But the snowstorm got worse and worse as Bertie drove along. The lamp posts weren't any help because the snow was so thick that they couldn't be seen. "Ugh," Bertie grunted, "I can't see a thing!" "Me neither," said the driver with concern, "Let's go slowly and follow the road." But the road was covered in ice, and the bus's tyres didn't like the ice. "Woah, this ice is slippery." Bertie cried. Because he couldn't see anything, he swerved onto the other side of the street. "Look out!" yelled a feminine voice. "Madge?!" Bertie spluttered. "Get out of the way, you fool! I'm delivering some supplies for villages!" Madge cried as her driver braked hard. Bertie gasped and his driver desperately turned the steering wheel to the left, just in time. Bertie and Madge missed each other by inches. Madge screeched to a halt, rather cross. "Watch where you're going!" "Sorry, but it's all this snow," Bertie gulped, but he suddenly realized he had no clue where he was. “Where in the blazes is the road?” he cried. Before his driver could reply, Bertie’s tyres starting to slip again “Woaaah!” Bertie cried as he started to spin. Some of the passengers got dizzy, and some flew out of their seats. The driver, desperate, drove Bertie into a ditch beside the road. Bertie groaned as stars flew above his head. “Ar-are we there yet?” he spluttered. His driver grabbed his hat and put it back on his head. "...no...instead we're lost..." "Well... that's just great..." Bertie moaned; he was stuck. At Knapford Station, Daisy was fuming. “Where’s that blasted bus? He should be here by now!” she grunted, “And to think, that I must sit here in this snowstorm... It’s ridiculous, and on top of that, I'm freezing to the frames!” Mavis oiled beside her with her last stone train. “Oh, Daisy. What’s wrong now?” she asked with a frown. Daisy sniffed. “Well, first of all, the snow is cold." Mavis smirked. "Well, it is snow. Be grateful you're under a roof." Daisy scoffed. "I wouldn't mind except Bertie’s missing in the snow, from what I can think of. There really isn't much else. He's insanely late.” Mavis was concerned. “Oh my… Is he alright?” “What makes you think I know?” cried Daisy, “All I know is this snowstorm’s causing unnecessary chaos…” “Well, maybe Bertie will show up?” Mavis asked hopefully. Daisy rolled her eyes. “Right, and I’m a steam engine. Something happened to that blasted bus. I just know it…” "For once, I agree with you," Mavis sighed, "What do we do?" "Don't ask me, I don't know," Daisy huffed as her driver explained the situation to the passengers. The passengers were cross, but understood that it couldn't be helped. "How are we going to get home though?" asked a man, "The roads are coated with ice and this wind is awful." Mavis suddenly grinned as she came up with an idea. "Driver, call the Sodor Search and Rescue Centre. Tell them Bertie's stuck between Tidmouth and Knapford!" Her driver nodded and ran into the station building to find a telephone. In their shed, Belle and Flynn were freezing. "Ugh, I really don't like this," Belle said, shivering, "I hate how the doors are open. How's a fire supposed to start in this mess?!" "I don't know, but manager said we must be on our guard. At least we aren't like Harold, who's sitting on his helipad in the bare cold." Flynn replied. "You alright, Harold?" asked Belle. "I'm fine," shouted Harold, "Sort of. I don't know how I'm supposed to take off but at least I was permanently fitted with this searchlight, so I can see in the blizzard." "That's handy," remarked Flynn, "What about Butch?" "Over here," Butch cried out, "I'm on the road." "Thank goodness. We don't want anyone to get lost in this," said Flynn, relieved. Butch yawned, just as the manager came out, wearing a winter coat, and the alarm bell started to ring. "Butch, we need you! Now!" Butch's eyes popped open as his driver revved the engine. "What's the matter?" the breakdown vehicles inquired. "Bertie's stuck in a snowdrift between Knapford and Tidmouth. We need you to take him to the bus depot as quickly as possible." "Yes sir," said Butch as he started to drive away. "Should I come, sir? I can spy him and Bertie from the air." asked Harold. "I don't think that's necessary. The snow's getting lighter, and Butch is a very strong vehicle," the manager replied. "Oh..." Butch drove away, with the Rescue Team cheering him on. "Go Butch!" Even if Harold was a little worried. Soon, Butch was driving up a country lane, squinting as he peered into the night. "This is ridiculous," he muttered, "At least Terence helped when he got stuck in the fog..." "Now Butch, we must be alert," said his driver, "Bertie's a fine bus, but gets..." "Stubborn?" "Yes, that's it." "Well, it doesn't help me any..." Butch huffed. He blinked as he noticed a snowdrift ahead. "Driver, to the right!" His driver nodded and swerved to the right. "Boy, this snow is worse than I thought!" Butch groaned, "I really hope we don't get stuck in this!" "We will, if we're not careful," the driver replied, turning the steering wheel to avoid a patch of ice. Butch drove by Tidmouth Station. "Almost there..." he told himself. He was a bit surprised to find that there weren't any engines at all. A few minutes later, Butch was slightly slipping on the road. "Woah, this ice is horrid!" Butch then gasped as he noticed a pile of snow that covered the entire road. "Driver, stop! Now!" "What?" Before Butch could explain, he ran into the snowdrift. His eyes rolled in circles as he spit out a bit of snow. "Ooh... Are we at the depot now?" he asked wearily. His driver didn't reply, mentally scolding himself for not paying attention to the ice. "Bother... Where's a telephone?" he asked himself. He walked for a bit, before eyeing a telephone booth beside the road. At the Rescue Centre, the vehicles were all snug in their sheds, pleased to not have to go out into the night. All except for Harold. "Oh, I wish I had something to do in this blasted blizzard!" he said to himself, though even he could barely hear his own voice, due to the wind, "I'm built for this sort of thing!" Just then, the manager ran up to see him. "I just got a call from Butch's driver. Now Butch is stuck in the snow. We need you to find both Butch and Bertie, Harold." Harold smiled, though he knew he shouldn't since his friends were in danger; he was just glad he had something to do. "Right sir! On the double!" Workmen piled into him with shovels so they could dig Butch out when they found him. His rotors started to spin, his searchlight beamed into the manager, who covered his eyes, and Harold took off into the night. "Don't you get lost too!" the manager yelled as he cupped his mouth. Since there weren't any icy roads, Harold didn't have any issue as his searchlight beamed brightly down onto trees. "Where are they?" the helicopter thought, "They have to be around here somewhere..." He hovered closer to the ground, squinting to get a better view. Down on the ground, Butch was starting to get cold. "I never should've ran into this rescue without thinking ahead..." he sighed, "I suppose that's one thing to take from this... If I ever get out of here..." The driver, keeping in Butch's cab to keep some semblance of warmth, agreed. "Ugh, I could go for some hot cocoa right about now..." Just then a blinding light dawned down on them. Butch was confused. "What in the blazes is that?" "It's Harold!" cried the driver. "What?!" "Yes, it is I, fellows!" the helicopter exclaimed as he hovered down to the road. He landed with a soft thump as workmen ran out with their shovels. "You've come to rescue me?" Butch asked in surprise. "What did you think I came out here for?" laughed Harold as the workmen started to shovel away the snow that held Butch. "Oh... Thank you Harold... Thank you!" Harold merely smiled. Eventually, Butch could drive out of the snow. "Thanks, workmen. Since you're here, do you think we could find Bertie, together? I could use some help." Harold grinned. "Of course chap! Lead the way!" Butch honked his horn as he raced out of a small snow pile and into the dark. Meanwhile, Bertie's passengers were freezing. "Can I have some food?" "No." said Bertie's driver. "But I'm hungry." "We're in the middle of a snowstorm, trapped inside a red bus with no chance of escape. Why must my life go so wrong..." Bertie sighed to himself. "Oh, I'll n-n-never get out o-of h-h-here..." Suddenly he heard the odd sound of a road vehicle turning around on the road. "B-b-b-butch?" the bus exclaimed in surprise. As Harold shone his light down on the two, Butch smiled. "Well, who did you expect? Santa Claus?" he joked. "W-w-well..." Bertie was so cold that he couldn't say anything as Butch's hook was attached to him. The bus's passengers cheered for the two rescuers as they piled into Harold for warmth. Butch tugged and tugged as slowly but surely, Bertie found that he was out of the snowdrift. He gasped for air, ecstatic. "I can breathe again! Oh yes, I can breathe again!" the bus cheered, "Thank you, Butch and Harold! I thought I was going to be an ice cube on wheels for sure!" Butch and Harold merely chuckled. "I'll take these passengers back home," Harold said, "I hope you don't mind." "Nah, I can take it from here. The Bus Depot isn't too far away." Butch replied as he honked his horn. Harold took off for the sky while Butch set off for his final destination for the night. At the Bus Depot, Algy couldn't sleep; he was too worried. "Bulgy...? Hey, Bulgy." Bulgy opened a sleepy eye. "What is it..." "Bertie's still gone. I think he's in trouble..." "So?" "So?! Don't you care, Bulgy? One of our friends is freezing in this blasted snowstorm! I have to go out and help him!" "No, no, no. I won't let you. It's dangerous out there. We can't risk two buses," Bulgy scolded. Algy sighed. "I know but it just... It feels wrong." "So does everything else." Just then, the doors opened. Algy and Bulgy gave each other a confused look. "Hello friends! I'm back!" came a familiar voice. "Bertie...?" Algy gasped. Butch grinned as he towed Bertie into the shed. "Yes..." "Okay, what happened?" demanded Bulgy. "I, um... Went into the snow and... fell in a snowdrift. My passengers should be at home by now, though," Bertie said sheepishly. Algy couldn't help snickering while Bulgy just grunted. "I think you've learned something, eh Bertie?" Butch grinned. "Well... yes, I did. I learned not to take unnecessary risks, even if you think it's for the greater good," replied Bertie sincerely. "Good. About time," Bulgy muttered. The other three road vehicles laughed, though Bulgy didn't see what was so funny. "I'm being serious." The next morning, Butch and Harold returned to the Sodor Search and Rescue Centre. To their surprise, Belle and Flynn were waiting for them with the manager, all cheering for them. "We knew you two could do it!" grinned Belle, "We can't imagine what it must've been like in that snow." Butch smiled. "Well, being stuck wasn't that fun. But luckily Harold was sent to find me. I probably should've asked if he could come along from the beginning. I'm sorry Harold." "No hard feelings, chap." The manager shook his head. "No Butch, it was my fault. I should've planned ahead better too. But at least we're all still here, safe and sound after that awful blizzard." "Agreed." said the Rescue Team. Soon, Bertie was back on the road and so was Butch. Both had learned to think ahead before doing something you just might regret. Characters * Daisy * Mavis * Pip and Emma * Belle * Flynn * Bertie * Harold * Bulgy * Butch * Algy * Madge * Billy (cameo) * Rocky (cameo) * Terence (mentioned) Locations * Tidmouth Bus Depot * Tidmouth * Knapford * Sodor Search and Rescue Centre * Barrow-in-Furness (mentioned) Trivia * Various references to the story Bertie and the Fog are made. Category:Sodor Adventures